Lake Colorado City State Park Guide

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Introduction

Featuring 500 acres of parkland and more than five miles of shoreline bordering the lake, Lake Colorado City State Park, with its smooth to rugged trails, and beautiful mesquite vegetation is a must-visit on your next RV vacation. The park, located about 11 miles southwest of Colorado City, is a nature lovers’ paradise. You’ll have endless opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities such as picnicking, camping, fishing, hiking, swimming (unsupervised), geocaching, kayaking/boating, birding, and nature observation/photography.

Lake Colorado City State Park has what your heart desires, whether you’re a lover of hiking, birding, or kayaking on RV holiday. If you just want to relax at a campsite or cabin, the park has you covered with eleven cabins with air-conditioning, 110 campsites, a pavilion, and a group hall. Amenities and services at Lake Colorado City State Park include restrooms, showers, electric and water campsites, dump stations, cabins, a recreation hall, interpretive trails, picnic areas, a group picnic pavilion, a designated swimming area, parking lots, boat ramp, fishing barge, fishing pier, and a playground.

The park is located in the Mesquite Plains, a subdivision of the western Rolling Plains. In addition to the abundant mesquite trees and vegetation in the park, wildlife that can be observed and photographed includes white-tailed deer, mallard ducks, raccoons, armadillos and squirrels. The park is also home to fish species such as largemouth bass, channel catfish, and sunfish.

Transportation in Lake Colorado City State Park

Driving

Lake Colorado City State Park is an easy drive-in park for your RV, trailer, or any other vehicle, since it is located about 11 miles southwest of Colorado City off of Interstate 20 on FM 2836. Paved roads within the park link to all the campgrounds and the Day Use Area, meaning accessibility to all sites in the park is easy for your rig or any other vehicle.

Parking

There are lots of parking options for RVs and trailers in Lake Colorado City State Park, with ten lots throughout the park. You’ll easily locate parking spaces at the Mesquite Camping Area, Lakeview Camping Area, along the road to, and at the Day Use Area. Daily visitors to campgrounds will not be able to park at campsites until there is room on the parking pad due to limited parking in the campgrounds. A maximum of 3 vehicles including a motorhome or travel trailer is allowed at any 1 campsite in the park. All restrooms and shower facilities have wheelchair accessible cement routes from the parking area.

Public Transport

There are no public transportation facilities are available at Lake Colorado City State Park.

Campgrounds and parking in Lake Colorado City State Park

Campsites in Lake Colorado City State Park

Reservations camping

Lakeview Camping Area

Lakeview Camping Area features 34 pet-friendly campsites available for tents and RVs all year. These campsites provide access to water but do not have electric hookups for RVs/trailers. RV/trailer length limit at this campground is 81 feet. Amenities at Lakeview campground include showers, restrooms, and a fishing pier. A trailer dump station is located around this campground. The small dock, Lakeview Dock, which is a great place to try your luck at catching a fish, is just a short walk from the Lakeview Camping Area. Public consumption or display of any alcoholic beverage, and gathering of firewood are prohibited in the campground. Quiet time from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m.

Mesquite Circle Camping Area

Mesquite Circle Camping Area features 33 pet-friendly campsites available for tents and RVs throughout the year. The campsites are equipped with electric and water hookups for your RV/trailer and have amenities such as showers, restrooms, a playground, fire grill, a fishing barge, as well as a group recreational hall with a maximum capacity of 75. The recreation hall is equipped with commercial kitchen and huge BBQ pit making it a great place for everything from meetings to family reunions. The trailheads of the Cactus Cut Trail and Roadrunner Trail start at the Mesquite Circle campground. RV/trailer length limit at this campground is 62 feet. Activities like public consumption or display of any alcoholic beverage, gathering of firewood, and camp fires outside fire rings are prohibited in the campground. Quiet time from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m.

Rolling Hills Camping Area

Rolling Hills Camping Area features 43 pet-friendly campsites available for tents and RVs/trailers year-round. The campsites are equipped with electric and water hookups for your RV/trailer and have amenities such as showers, restrooms, fire grill, and access to a trailer dump station. RV/trailer length limit at this campground is 123 feet. Certain activities such as public consumption or display of any alcoholic beverage, gathering of firewood, and camp fires outside fire rings are prohibited in the campground. Quiet time from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m.

First-come first-served

Alternate camping

Seasonal activities in Lake Colorado City State Park

In-Season

Boating

Thanks to the lake, and the presence of the boat ramp at Lake Colorado City State Park, boating is a popular activity for all RV campers at the park. As a result, you can enjoy yourself while you boat across the lake all by yourself or with family/friends on your vacation. So, gear up and launch your vessel at the ramp area to partake in the memorable experience on the lake. The law requires that all children under age 13 wear one life vest with adult supervision while boating.

Flora

Lake Colorado City State Park is replete with picturesque vegetation that makes it a sweet spot for you to appreciate nature on your RV vacation. Although the area was originally an open grassland with a scattered, often localized, woody plant population, it is now often dominated by mesquite. These mesquite trees create shade for visitors and campers where other trees will not grow, thereby serving as great spots for recreational activities and offering added comfort to you during your hike, walk or nature observation in the park.

Hiking

Hike on the two trails that add up to about 3 miles in Lake Colorado City State Park on your RV holiday for an amazing holiday experience. The 1-mile long Cactus Cut Trail is an easy to moderate level hike along the edge of Lake Colorado City that cuts through cacti and brush, and offers great views of Lake Colorado City as well as the Morgan Creek Power Plant, making it perfect for a family hike. If you want a moderate to challenging trek, then hike on 1.8-mile Roadrunner Loop trail which has rugged terrain and passes through the Picnic Overlook where you can get a spectacular view of the lake. By no means should you miss Rock Ridge on this trail because it separates the lake from a hidden pond and offers you the chance to watch for birds and other wildlife in the park.

Off-Season

Paddling and Kayaking

As part of fun activities at the park on your RV vacation, you can paddle and kayak on Lake Colorado City. If you don’t have a kayak or paddleboard in your RV/trailer, you can rent at the park and get going! Life vests are also provided at the park for your safety while you relish your time on the lake.

Swimming

There is a designated swimming area close to the boat ramp around the Day Use Area in Lake Colorado City State Park for you to swim in the 51 feet deep clear lake while on your RV holiday. For the safety of swimmers, personal watercraft are not allowed in the swimming area and must observe the No Wake rules, particularly in the boat-launch area. No pets or glass containers are allowed in swimming area.

Fishing

Lake Colorado City State Park has a fishing pier and fishing barge, all for the purpose of enhancing your amazing fishing experience while you camp at the park in your RV. The fishing pier is wheelchair accessible with a cement route from the parking area. Popular fish you can catch include crappie, perch, catfish, bass and red drum. For catfish, use live and prepared baits in the river channels and near drop-offs. For largemouth bass, use minnows and artificial baits in the bulrushes and along the rip-rap on the dam. The lake typically experiences golden alga blooms between November and April which may vary in intensity from slightly to highly toxic blooms resulting in fish kills.